


no need for words

by Polaris (zekewastaken)



Category: BLACKPINK (Band)
Genre: Airport Confessions, Alternate Universe - Childhood Friends, F/F, Feelings Realization, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Long-Distance Friendship, Mute Lalisa Manoban | Lisa, Park Chaeyoung | Rosé Has Feelings, Sign Language, Time Skips, but it's barely used here tbh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-02
Updated: 2020-12-02
Packaged: 2021-03-10 06:26:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,321
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27845986
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zekewastaken/pseuds/Polaris
Summary: Suddenly, Rosé couldn’t stop thinking about the way Lisa’s ash-blond hair was tied up in a ponytail to reveal her lean shoulders. Or how her bangs would give prominence to the captivating gaze of her chic, dark eyes. Or how she wanted to trace her fingers along the sharp, distinct edges of the Thai’s picture-perfect face and memorize every little feature that made Lisa who she is.ORIn which, Lisa is mute and Rosé may or may not have developed feelings for her best friend along the way.
Relationships: Lalisa Manoban | Lisa/Park Chaeyoung | Rosé, Minor Jennie Kim/Kim Jisoo (Mentioned)
Comments: 9
Kudos: 109





	no need for words

**Author's Note:**

> Part of the [**ChaeLisa one-shot collection**](https://www.asianfanfics.com/story/view/1466515/24-365-i-only-wanna-be-with-you) I posted on AFF, but decided to share here.
> 
> **Just to clear up any confusion, they start off at five years old. Then they're fourteen, and then they're like seventeen to eighteen towards the end.

Rosé tugs on her father’s hand insistently.

"Come on, dad! Hurry up!” She exclaims with a small giggle. Her bright, hazel eyes locked on the building up ahead. Today is her first day at kindergarten, and Rosé couldn’t be any more eager to get started.

“Alright, alright. Calm down, Rosie.” Mr. Park laughs as he leads his daughter inside.

Her classroom is the first one by the left of the entranceway, and Rosé quickly breaks away from her father to find a place to sit. Most of the other kids haven’t arrived yet, but she spots another girl sitting by herself in a corner. Rosé, with her bubbly enthusiasm on full-blast, grins widely at her direction.

_Oh, she’s very pretty!_ She thinks with a toothy smile lighting up her face, before she runs over and plops herself on the empty chair beside her.

“Hi, I’m Roseanne! But you can call me Rosé or Rosie!” The Australian greets cheerfully. “What’s your name?”

The girl doesn’t say anything. Instead, she just looks at Rosé with dark, timid eyes that are reminiscent of a scared puppy. For a moment, the smile slips of Rosé’s face as she stares back in concern. But then it returns when she sees the other girl scribbling on a piece of paper with a blue crayon, before offering a timid smile as she slides it towards her.

Curious, Rosé picks it up and reads the messy lettering on the page.

“So, you’re Lisa?” She asked, and the girl nods shyly. “I like that name! It’s pretty, just like you!

Lisa’s smile seems to widen at that.

* * *

Weeks pass by, and the two girls have become close friends in no time. They both seem to enjoy the same things and often spent their playtime at the art corner of their classroom. Rosé didn’t mind that Lisa is unable to speak, since she likes exchanging crayon drawings and secret messages with her. But when Halloween began to approach, Rosé decided then that she wants to learn a new way to communicate with her best friend.

She had seen Lisa signing to her parents a lot, so she wanted to give it a try too.

“Hey, dad?” Rosé turns to her father as they’re seated for dinner. “Can you take me to the library tomorrow?”

Mr. Park pauses in the middle of him cutting his steak to give Rosé an amused look. “Oh? And what for?”

“I want to learn sign language so I can talk to Lisa.” Rosé explains. “I saw a book about it when Mrs. Hwang brought us there last Tuesday.”

The man smiles at that. “Sure, Rosie. Whatever you want.”

Rosé lets out a squeal of excitement. _I’ll finally be able to talk to Lisa now!_

To her glee, the next day finally comes and she finds herself sitting at a small, round table in the children’s section of the local library. The librarian was more than happy to help Rosé and got her the book she needs, before remarking to Mr. Park that _“it’s great seeing kids her age being interested in these things”._ Rosé didn’t quite hear anything she said after that, since she soon became immersed in the tiny pile of books that sat before her.

She spends the afternoon studying the alphabet and copying the hand gestures, trying to sign the basic words like _“hi”, “nice to meet you”, “please”,_ and _“thanks”._ Her father even had a hard time tearing Rosé away from her precious stack of books when dinner time came close, and they ended up checking out three different guidebooks for her to take home.

Over the course of the following week, Rosé continues to work on her basics. And as soon as she came home after school, she’d rush up to her room after greeting Mr. Park with a quick _“hey, dad!”_ and pull out her books to start practicing.

Rosé made plans to surprise Lisa at their class’ Halloween party by signing _“hello”_ to her, and she simply couldn’t wait to see the look of surprise on her friend’s pretty face. It’s going to be great!

(And for once, Rosé is looking forward to something else other than the bucket of candy she’ll be getting from the teachers.)

When the day of the party finally came, Rosé is out the door before her father could even put on her red cape.

“No need to get into a rush, Rosie.” Mr. Park says with a hearty chuckle, as he kneels down to adjust the Snow-White costume that she had haphazardly thrown on. “I’m sure you’ll have plenty of time to talk with your friend today.”

Rosé pouts while squirming in his hold. He just laughs and hands her backpack over, before motioning her to get in the car. She wastes no time in doing so and scrambles into the passenger seat, then fumbling with the seatbelt as she buckles up as fast as she can. The ride to school seems longer than usual, although it’s probably because Rosé is so excited to get there soon.

In her haste, she barely gives Mr. Park enough time to say goodbye before she’s out the car and running up to the doors. The hem of her dress almost made her slip a couple of times, but she manages to scuttle up the stairs and towards her already-decorated classroom. Mrs. Hwang greets her at the door, and she utters a hasty _“thanks, miss!”_ when the older woman compliments her costume.

As Rosé scans the room for her friend, a worried look crosses her face when she doesn’t see Lisa sitting at her usual spot. The Thai was normally one of the first to arrive on most days, since her parents had to drop her off early on the way to work.

Mrs. Hwang must’ve noticed something was wrong, because she moves across the room and over to her side.

“Is there a problem, Rosie?” She asked while bending down slightly to meet her gaze.

Rosé tries to mask the disappointment on her face. “Do you know where Lisa is?”

The teacher offers her a reassuring smile. “Lisa’s mom needed to take her to the doctor this morning, but she said that Lisa will be here before lunchtime.” She said. “Why don’t you go play with some of your classmates while waiting for her?”

Before Rosé can protest that idea, Mrs. Hwang lets out a sigh when her attention is pulled to the ruckus behind her. One of the boys seem to have tried picking on Jennie by yanking on the cape of her Elsa costume—only to be chased away crying when Jisoo, who is dressed as Link from _Legend of Zelda,_ came to Jennie’s rescue and whacked his head with the flat of her plastic sword.

“Jongin! Jisoo! We’ve talked about this already!” Mrs. Hwang groans before excusing herself to confront the two kids, with Jisoo waving her sword at the boy while shielding (literally, she has a shield) the flustered Jennie behind her.

The rest of the morning drags by slowly for Rosé. But then finally, at eleven o’ clock, there were soft knocks on the door as it opened to reveal a nervous-looking Lisa poking her head in.

Rosé brightens immediately.

“Lisa!” She exclaims, sprinting towards her and crushing the startled girl in her arms. Her smile growing two more sizes when Lisa embraces her just as tightly, and then pulling away to see that she’s dressed as Kim Possible for the party. “I like your costume, by the way! It really fits you!”

Lisa grins and flashes her Snow-White costume a thumbs-up. A silent compliment that the Australian understood. “Oh, thank you!” She beams happily.

As they’re seated together in their little corner of the classroom, Rosé briefly contemplates whether she should surprise Lisa now or later, but decides that this would be the best time. And so, with a quiet giggle, she signs one simple word: _“Hello!”_

The look on Lisa’s face is priceless, but the hug Rosé receives right after is even better.

* * *

**rosie** **🌹**

_Lisaaaaa, you don’t understand! TT-TT_

_You clearly haven’t lived until you’ve seen this movie, okay?_

**Nalalisaaa**

_Considering that I’ve made it this far, I’m living my best life without ever having to see it_ 😇

**rosie** **🌹**

_Oh, c’mon!_

_Would it KILL you to at least give it a try??_

**Nalalisaaa**

_Y’all hear smth?_

_I think I’m choking rn._

_Cough. Cough. Gag._

**rosie** **🌹**

_Seriously? -.-_

**Nalalisaaa**

_Frankly, I’m not._

_I’m afraid I can’t go on for much longer, Rosie…_

_Tell my parents and Luca that I love them_ 👊😔

_Here lies Lalisa Manoban, who died at the unmerciful hands of Roseanne Park’s terrible rom-com movies._

_May she rest in peace_ 💔

**rosie** **🌹**

_Ugh, why did I even bother…_

_But anyway, are you still coming over tonight?_

**Nalalisaaa**

_Yeah, yeah. I’ll be right there .3._

_You better not eat all those chips without me!_

**rosie** **🌹**

_No promises~!_

With a chuckle, Rosé tosses her iPhone to the side of her bed. She and Lisa have been best friends for nearly ten years now, and they were practically joined by the hip. Not a day went by when they didn’t at least message each other on KakaoTalk, even if it was to only send a funny picture or video. And if ever such a day did occur, well… you could possibly assume that the apocalypse was nigh.

“Rosie, I’m heading out to grab some things from the store.” Mr. Park announces as he peeks into her bedroom. “Do you need me to get anything? Snacks? Drinks?”

Rosé shakes her head.

“I’m good, dad. Thanks.” She replies with smile, before taking a sip from the mug of hot chocolate sitting on her nightstand. “By the way, Lisa’s coming over later.”

Her father merely hums. This was typical for them to hang out at each other’s houses, and he had long since gotten used to opening the front door for the Thai to come in.

“Alright. Just make sure to clean up after yourselves, okay?”

“Yep!”

As Mr. Park takes his leave, Rosé sets down her mug and moves to grab her MacBook. Placing it on her lap so she can scroll through the list of movies on her Netflix account, before a notification goes off on her phone. Without a second thought, she reaches for the device and unlocks it. There’s another message from Lisa.

**Nalalisaaa**

_Um, Rosie?_ 👉👈

_Tonight might not be such a great time…_

Well, _that_ doesn’t sound too good.

Rosé frowns and begins to type.

**rosie** 🌹

_Aww, why not? :c_

She gets a reply no less than a minute later.

**Nalalisaaa**

_It’s probably better if I told you in-person._

_Meet me at the park in fifteen minutes?_ 🥺

**rosie** 🌹

 _Of course. I’ll be there as soon as I can_ 💕💕

With a worried sigh, Rosé locks her phone and pockets it in her hoodie. She tries not to let her thoughts wander on the negatives, despite the sudden urgency in Lisa’s messages. Did her friend get grounded? Is that why she can’t come over?

… Okay, no. If that were the case, Lisa would’ve _definitely_ told her straight away.

Shaking her head, Rosé sends a quick message to her father and slips into her old pair of red chucks, before heading out into the chilly evening with a sweater to keep her warm. A dozen possibilities ran through her head at what Lisa might be pertaining to. But the sooner she stopped thinking about it, the sooner she could get to the park and find out what the actual problem is.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Rosé hops onto her bike and pedals off towards her destination. It takes her about ten minutes tops since there aren’t many cars passing through the neighborhood, and she spots Lisa waiting for her by their usual spot under a large tree. Her own bike resting against the trunk as its owner paced back and forth nearby.

“Hey, Lis. I got your message. What’s up?” Rosé asked as soon as she flips down the kickstand of her bike, propping it up so she can walk up to the mute Thai.

Lisa halts in her tracks and looks towards the night sky above. Rosé frowns, but doesn’t say anything else. She knew by now that it’s better to wait until Lisa was ready to tell her what’s going on.

A few minutes pass with the only sound being the noise of cicadas hiding somewhere in the leaves, and their shoes crunching along the dewy grass beneath them. Then finally, after what seems like a long time, Lisa faces her with saddened eyes.

**_‘I’m moving back.’_** She signs slowly.

Rosé blinks, unable to comprehend what her friend just motioned to her.

“You’re… what?”

Lisa breathes out an inaudible sigh.

**_‘I’m moving back to Thailand.’_ **

The Australian is left speechless, and it feels as if all the words she wanted to say have been snatched from her. Rosé feels her head spinning now, because _was this really happening?_ It didn’t feel like it was happening.

She closes her eyes, wondering if this will all turn out to be just a bad dream when she opens them. Her hazel eyes are greeted by the same tenebrous night, and Rosé’s heart drops.

_So, it’s not a dream…_

Lisa has turned away from her again.

“I mean, I guess it can’t be all that bad…” Rosé said, more so to herself than to Lisa. “You did mention how much you miss Bangkok and that South Korea makes you homesick sometimes. And we can still message each other on KakaoTalk, even if we’re like… miles apart. Right?”

Her frown deepens further. She’s already running out of ways to convince herself that things would turn out okay after this.

“When are you guys leaving?” Rosé asked hesitantly, almost like she was afraid of getting an answer.

**_‘About a week from now.’_** Lisa responds with downturned lips, her gaze turning guilty and solemn at Rosé’s dejected expression.

“Would it be weird to ask for a hug then…?”

Lisa cracks a smile that doesn’t quite reach her eyes and shakes her head softly, before stepping forward to hold the crestfallen girl in her arms. Rosé nuzzles her face against Lisa’s neck, basking in the familiarity and warmth that’s radiating from her, as she returns the hug.

(They would end up sharing another heartfelt, but tearful embrace at the airport a week later, with Lisa pressing a tender kiss on Rosé’s forehead. A silent promise that they’ll reunite someday.)

* * *

Rosé slides down in her chair with a groan. The past week has been absolute _Hell_ for her. Finals were never her strong point, so she was more than happy to finally relax after submitting her last requirements for that term.

Her eyes flit to the open planner sitting beside her laptop. Only a couple more days until Christmas break, and she can put off any thoughts about high school until January.

Slumping back, Rosé rakes a hand through her strawberry-blond hair before moving her finger along the touchpad to open Discord.

She’s hoping that Lisa is online at this hour, despite the Thai’s schedule being different from her own, since they weren’t able to talk much in the past two weeks. Especially with their conflicting timetables, and the fact that they’ve both been busy with schoolwork. So, Rosé was pretty much dying to have an _actual_ conversation with her for once.

To her absolute delight, there’s a little green symbol on Lisa’s icon. And she doesn’t waste a second in clicking on her username to message her.

**red like rosie** 🌹

_Lisaaaaaaa!!!_

**Manobanz**

_Rosieeee :D_

**red like rosie** 🌹

_Hi hi hi!_

_Are you busy rn??_

**Manobanz**

_Haha, nope!_

_I’m free for the rest of day._

_Got time for a video call? I miss hearing your voice._

(Rosé may or may not have blushed at that.)

**red like rosie** 🌹

 _And I miss seeing your dumb face_ 🥰

**Manobanz**

_WOW, OKAY_

_That’s the most back-handed compliment you’ve given me yet =_=_

**red like rosie** 🌹

_I’m just kidding, lol._

_But really, I do miss you_ :c

**Manobanz**

_Aww, Rosie…_

_I miss you too <3_

_But don’t tell that to your boyfriend. He might get jealous._

**red like rosie** 🌹

_Oh, you mean Jungkook? Yeah, he’d probably be._

_Who wouldn’t be jealous of the amazing Lalisa Manoban?_ 😘

**Manobanz**

_Ya got that right_ 😤😤😤

Chuckling, Rosé clicks on the video call button. It takes a couple seconds for it to connect, and a webcam screen immediately pops up. Lisa offers her one of those blinding smiles as she waves both her hands in unveiled excitement, and the Australian has to force down a blush while trying to ignore the little flips of her stomach.

Remember when she said that she missed seeing Lisa’s face? Yeah, she wasn’t kidding.

In fact, while Rosé would never admit it out loud, she actually kind of, sort of, _maybe_ likes Lisa. And not in a _“We’re literally childhood best friends. Of course, I like you”_ type of way, but in a more than friendly way. Way more.

Lalisa Manoban is a very beautiful girl, there’s no denying it, and Rosé has always known that her best friend was blessed with gorgeous looks—but it didn’t really dawn on her how attractive Lisa actually is until the summer before their sophomore year. They’d been video-calling late one humid night, when it was pretty hot in Thailand. So much so that Lisa had casually opened her webcam to reveal her mostly-bare torso, with only a black, Nike sports bra covering her chest.

At first, Rosé didn’t really think anything of it. Because why would she? They’re best friends, after all, and it’s not like that was the first time she’d seen Lisa without a shirt on (specially with the latter’s rather brazen personality). But then she let her eyes wander a little more than they should and, well, shit…

Suddenly, Rosé couldn’t stop thinking about the way Lisa’s ash-blond hair was tied up in a ponytail to reveal her lean shoulders. Or how her bangs would give prominence to the captivating gaze of her chic, dark eyes. Or how she wanted to trace her fingers along the sharp, distinct edges of the Thai’s picture-perfect face and memorize every little feature that made Lisa who she is.

It was only a matter of time before Rosé came to terms of what she feels for her friend, though she often tried to shove them into the very recesses of her mind. But then again, she had always said that she couldn’t imagine spending her life with anyone other than Lisa…

The sound of a keyboard being typed away yanks Rosé back to the present.

**Manobanz**

_Rosieeeee~_

_I know I’m hot stuff and all, but can we tone down on the staring?_

_You might as well take a picture instead. It’ll last longer ;))_

Rosé just rolls her eyes in fond amusement.

“Sorry, got lost in my thoughts for a while there. But thanks for the suggestion.” She humors while offering the other girl a sweet smile. “How’s life treating you back home?”

Lisa appears to frown on the other end, but it’s gone before Rosé can say anything about it.

**Manobanz**

_Could be better… though I guess it’s been nicer to me than most lately_ ✌️

_Just broke up with the girl I told you about._

_She needed someone who could actually put their own two-cents in an argument, if you know what I mean :P_

“Oh.” Rosé’s voice turns soft and sympathetic. “I’m sorry to hear that, Lis…”

The Thai only gives a nonchalant shrug.

**Manobanz**

_It’s fine, I wasn’t really affected by it all that much._

_What about Jungkook?? You barely talk about him nowadays._

Now it’s Rosé’s turn to shrug. “Guess now would be a good time to mention that we broke it off more than a week ago. Turns out, I wasn’t exactly… _his type._ ”

She felt her heart skip a beat when Lisa utters a breathy chuckle at that.

**Manobanz**

_Aw, that’s too bad. He seems like a chill guy!_

_Still can’t get over the fact that you two had to drive to the convenience store at 9PM. Lol._

_All because Jungkook really wanted his banana milk._

Rosé stifles a laugh.

“Oh, yeah. I was confused at first. But then he got me a McFlurry right after, so I wasn’t too annoyed at him for dragging me along.” She grinned. “Anyway, I’m good with us being just friends. Right now, he has his eyes set on this Taehyung guy from his woodshop class.”

**Manobanz**

_Lmao, he better bust out some Prince Charming moves if he wants his man then xD_

_What about Jisoo-unnie and Jennie-unnie tho? Still pining for each other?_

The four of them met in the Principal’s office after they coincidentally skipped their flag ceremony by camping in the cafeteria. Too bad a teacher had been patrolling the place at that same time, and eventually caught the two pairs sitting a few tables apart. Jisoo, being the outgoing person she is, took it upon herself to introduce them to one another and even communicated with Lisa through sign language, stating how she had studied it during elementary to exchange secret messages with her friends.

Jennie wasn’t as talkative, though it was mostly because she was shy and usually relied on Jisoo to do the whole _‘social interaction’_ thing. But she and Lisa got along pretty well too, especially when they found out that they both enjoy dancing and have similar tastes in fashion. Meanwhile, Rosé bonded with Jennie over their English-speaking tongue and love for music. Then Jisoo because of how laidback and funny she is.

“You’ll be happy to know that they’ve been dating for almost a month now.” Rosé grinned. “Jennie-unnie kicked herself enough to finally ask Jisoo-unnie out, and she instantly accepted.”

Lisa does a silent cheer that has the other girl giggling at her childish, but adorable antics.

**Manobanz**

_IT’S ABOUT TIME_

_For a sec there, I thought we’d be graduating high school without either of them confessing yet._

_Congrats to those two idiots. Tell them good, ol’ Lisa sends her regards_ ❤️

“Jennie-unnie would probably go off in your DMs for calling her that, but sure.” Rosé jokes, and they both just sit there while smiling at their desktop screens.

It’s comforting to know that they can still enjoy each other’s company without needing a conversation, and the Australian takes this opportunity to drink in the image of her friend. Memorizing the shape of her doll-like eyes and the cupid’s bow of her luscious lips, then admiring the effortless waves of her chestnut-brown hair that fell past her shoulders in a way that borders on aesthetic.

Her smile tugs up a bit at the sight of those thin, rounded spectacles perched on the Thai’s nose—a birthday gift that Rosé has sent over last year after Lisa broke her old glasses during a fairly rigorous dance practice. It always made her happy to see them being put into good use, more so because Lisa looks _really_ attractive in them (not that she’d ever mention it out loud).

As her mind starts to wander into an uncharted, but familiar territory, a little ping from her laptop brings Rosé back to reality.

**Manobanz**

_Sooooo…_

_There’s actually something I need to tell you…_

At that, Rosé’s heart begins to pound in his chest. The possibilities behind that statement were literally endless, and over fifty percent of them weren’t good. She quickly hides her fear though. Not wanting Lisa to catch onto the fact that she’s worried.

“Yeah…?” Rosé asked tentatively.

Lisa seems to hesitate for a moment, a look of uncertainty on her face, as Rosé listens to the clickity-clack of her fingers swiping across the keyboard. Her eyes trained on the three fading dots signaling the unsent message on the screen as Lisa kept backspacing her words.

After what felt like a century, it pops up in their chat window.

**Manobanz**

_I talked about it with my parents earlier, and they allowed me to fly over to Seoul for Christmas!! :DDD_

It takes all of what Rosé has not to burst out in excitement, her eyes darting to the planner once more as she flips through the pages. Christmas is only two weeks and a half away from now!

“Oh my God, that’s awesome!” Rosé squeals as she practically vibrates on her seat. “But would it hurt you to give your girl a heads-up next time? I thought I was finished with all my shopping last weekend!”

The sight of Lisa’s grin is enough to make her melt inside.

* * *

Rosé bounced on the balls of her feet impatiently as she scanned the bustling airport. Lisa’s flight is set to land in about fifteen minutes, and oh boy—her heart feels like it’s going to jump out of her chest any second.

Her mind has been a frazzled mess after spending the past week finishing up her last requirements, buying more Christmas presents, and then fixing the house to prepare for Lisa’s visit. She had somehow managed to make it out of all that alive (save for some minor back pain), but it might’ve been better if she had just keeled over.

Rosé was worried, extremely worried, as she waited anxiously for her best friend’s arrival.

What if things were different between them now? Sure, they’ve talked on Discord and texted each other on KakaoTalk all the time, but none of them had been face-to-face. And even if things weren’t different, well, they’d probably be after what she’ll do today.

Ever since they ended their video call less than two weeks ago, Rosé has been practicing her sign language again. It was three words. Ones that are fairly simple on their own, but extremely sentimental when put together: _“I love you.”_

It was risky, no doubt. Especially when she considers the chances that it could totally ruin the rest of Lisa’s stay.

Rosé breathes in and out, going through the motions in her head once more as she concentrates on doing everything right. Her hand makes a fist before she lifts her pinky finger, then her index, and finally outstretches her thumb. That was easier said than done. Way easier.

Taking a deep breath, she turns her attention to the large screen above her head.

_Ten more minutes now._ Rosé thinks and began to pace back and forth, practicing the gestures over and over again. This _has_ to be perfect. It just has to.

She tries to preoccupy herself by playing a few games of _Subway Surfers_ on her phone, but she can’t seem to focus on anything other than Lisa.

_Lisa. Lisa. Lisa._

Sighing, Rosé shoves her phone back into the pocket of her hoodie and turns towards the window facing the runway. She thinks she can see Lisa’s plane on the landing strip (but she’s not sure), and the next few minutes pass by in a blur.

_“Flight 305 from Bangkok, Thailand is offboarding.”_ The intercom declares overhead, causing Rosé’s heart to pound longingly against her chest as she gets up from her seat. It’s almost rhythmic, the thumping and drumming of her heart like it was playing a nervous song, as she absentmindedly wipes her palms on the denim of her frayed shorts before pulling out her phone once more.

There’s a text from Lisa, asking her where she is. And Rosé immediately replies that she’s right underneath the flight tracker by Gate 14.

She’s drifting off into her own little world again, when someone suddenly taps on her shoulder and she jumps in surprise. Twisting on her heel to see who it is—and finds herself looking into the bright, smiling eyes of Lalisa Manoban herself. Tall, and brunette, and very happy. She didn’t have her glasses on for once, and Rosé couldn’t help but notice how good the Thai looks wearing a white crop-top with a windbreaker jacket over it. Exposing her taut midsection for the world (and the Australian) to gawk at.

_Holy Mother of…_

The gentle snap of fingers pulls Rosé’s attention back to Lisa’s amused face, and she forces down the raging blush that threatened to paint her cheeks.

“Lisa!” She exclaims as the other girl shoots her a charming grin. Her arms held out for a hug, to which Rosé was more than happy to comply to as she jumps forward and crushes her best friend in a welcoming hug. Squeezing her tightly as Lisa does a laugh, before she ruffles Rosé’s hair in an affectionate manner.

“Hey! I just brushed that!” Rosé states with a half-hearted glare upon letting go, though the smile on her face betrayed her.

Lisa chuckles silently, and the two stand there in the midst of people scuttling around them. Neither of them making the first move as they took this moment to savor each other’s presence. Because, _finally,_ the two are together once again.

Rosé decides that she’s put off her confession long enough. And with a nervous, almost wary smile, she says “Lisa, there’s something I’ve been wanting to tell you for a while now…”

Lisa cocks her head to one side and studies her intently, obviously putting all of her focus on what she’s about to say as her expression softens.

Inhale. Exhale. _You can do this, Rosé._

The Australian’s hands are shaking a bit, but she manages to put up a fist and maintains her wavering smile. She extends her pinky, then her index, and finally her thumb. Just like she rehearsed earlier.

Lisa’s mouth drops open slightly, which makes her wince. Was that a good sign…?

So, um… y-yeah…!” I guess we can just pretend that I never did that!” Rosé stammers out awkwardly. “Geez, what was I thinking? Ha…”

Heartbroken and embarrassed, she turns around with an excuse to start searching for her father—until Lisa takes her by the shoulders gently and urges Rosé to look at her, noting the uneasy smile on the Thai’s face as their gazes met.

Oh, God. Lisa is going to reject her, isn’t she?

Lord knows how much Rosé wants to disappear off the face of the Earth right now. She just _had_ to go and act like an idiot. It’s over. She royally screwed up this entire Christmas trip for her best friend, and now Roseanne Park is officially—

Suddenly, she feels Lisa’s arms wrapping around her waist. _Wait, this… this isn’t right._ Rosé peeks up at the other girl’s face, confused and shy, while Lisa gives her a cheeky smile—possibly the sweetest, most sincere smile she’s ever seen grace her perfect features—and mouths the words _“I love you too.”_

For as cliché as it may sound, the world really seems to have disappeared at that. And all Rosé can see is just Lisa. _Her_ Lisa.

“You love me…” She manages to choke out, blinking back the tears that she hadn’t realized were there, as Lisa nods with the softest look in her enticing, dark eyes, which stare at Rosé like she’s the only thing that matters in that moment.

“You bimbo! Why didn’t you tell me sooner?!” Rosé whines as she snakes her arms around Lisa’s neck, while the latter wore a shit-eating, but damn attractive smirk at her dismay. “It could’ve saved me the anxiety, you know! God, you’re so annoying sometimes!”

She feels herself melting even further when Lisa does that soundless laugh she’s fallen in love with, the action causing her shoulders to bounce subtly, as Lisa rests their foreheads together. Rosé is the first one to move and smashes their lips together for that long, overdue kiss. Loving the tender way Lisa responds to her as she leads their pace slowly, sweet and intimate, as Rosé sighs contentedly into her mouth.

The kiss felt warm. It felt like home, and it felt like…

Lisa.


End file.
